A Matter of Interpretation
by amythis
Summary: Ginger gets more than she bargained for when she agrees to analyze Gilligan's dreams. (G/G because that ship is under-represented.)
1. Analysis

Ginger uncapped the pen and opened the notepad to a blank page. "Go ahead, Gilligan."

"So there was this girl."

"In your dream or in real life?"

"Both."

"Oh, really?" She couldn't wait to tell Mary Ann that, and then she remembered that she had to respect his right to privacy. She wasn't really a psychologist, but if she was going to play one, she should follow the rules.

"Yeah, uh, we met before I came to the island."  
"Oh." She wondered, was this Gilligan's old sweetheart, or maybe a girl he'd had a hopeless crush on? Perhaps that was why he backed away from her and Mary Ann.

"Yeah, and I've had dreams about her."

She suddenly worried about what kind of dreams these were. Well, this was Gilligan, so his dreams were probably pretty innocent. "Go on."

"And, well, me and this girl, most people would say we have nothing in common. But in my dreams, we really connect. And I've even dreamed about being engaged, or even married to her."

This was sad. Gilligan dreaming about a girl he'd probably never see again, still dreaming about her after five years on the island. "Do you imagine a nice little home, with her in an apron, you coming home from work?"

"No, she's not that kind of girl."

"What?"

"I mean, she's a nice girl but exciting. I dream that we're spies, or vampires!"

"Vampires? She must not be very pretty."

"No, she is, even as a vampire."

These sounded like very strange dreams, even for Gilligan, but of course she couldn't say that. "So why do you think you're having these dreams now, when you haven't seen her in so many years?"

He opened his eyes and looked up at her from Mrs. Howell's deck chair, which they were using as the psychological couch. "Um, well, actually I've seen her more recently than that."

"More recently?" How was that possible? The only American women to visit their island were Eva Grubb and Erika Tiffany Smith, and she doubted Gilligan could have a past with either.

"Um, yeah, very, very, very recently."

And then it sunk in. He must mean her or Mary Ann. And while it was possible he was dreaming of Mary Ann as a vampire or spy, she really was more the homemaker in an apron type. "Me?" Ginger whispered. "You mean me?"

He swallowed and then quietly said, "Yeah."

"But, Gilligan, we didn't meet before coming to the island."

"Yeah, we did. On _The Minnow_."

Well, yes, that was technically true. "Why didn't you just say it was me from the beginning?"

"I wanted to find out what you thought the dreams mean."

"Well, they don't have to mean anything. Or they might mean something different than what you see on the surface."

"OK."

That was it? He had told her something very personal and now was willing to drop it? She had to ask, "Do you ever dream about being married to Mary Ann? Or anyone else?"

"Well, we were sort of engaged one time when I was a sheriff in the Old West. You were the saloon girl."

She laughed. "That's more like what I would expect you to be dreaming of me. Um, I mean if I'd thought about it."

"Yeah, but that was when I didn't know you that well and I was scared of you trying to kiss me all the time."

"It wasn't all the time!" she said indignantly.

"Well, more than I was used to. Then I realized you were mostly kissing me to get something from me, like a saw or a secret."

"Well, yes. But you were fun to kiss."

"You don't try anymore."

"I guess I don't want anything from you anymore. And we're better friends now."

"Yeah. So if I asked you to marry me, you'd probably let me down gently, right?"

She stared at him. "WHAT?"

"Well, I was thinking about it. And maybe I dream about being married to you because we're more alike than people realize. Like, we both have good imaginations and we love movies."

"Well, yes, but that's hardly a solid basis for a marriage."

"Then what is?"

She wasn't sure how to answer that. "Well, it's a lot of things."

"Do you think we could date and see how that goes?"

"Date? Gilligan, this is crazy!"

"What's crazy about it?"

"Well, for one thing, Mary Ann has a crush on you."

He shook his head. "Yeah, you told me that years ago, but I thought you meant you did."

"She really is sweet on you." Ginger felt a little like she was betraying Mary Ann's secret by telling him, but he had to know.

"I like her, too, but there's just something about you. And I could see spending the rest of my life with you much more than with her."

"Well, thank you, Gilligan, that's very flattering. But you seem to have forgotten that if we don't ever get rescued, we're all going to be spending the rest of our lives together. And this island is much too small for us to be here with Mary Ann being miserable."

"I'm not her boyfriend or anything."

"No, but she wanted you to be."

"Well, if I got her approval, then would you go out with me?"

"Go out? Gilligan, there's nowhere to date on the island."

"Well, we could go to the beach or something. Like that time I was fishing and you went with me and we laughed a lot."

She wondered if she should say no. But the truth was she'd always thought Gilligan was cute. After all, some of those times she could've been kissing the Skipper for information, supplies, and favors instead. OK, maybe part of the appeal, especially when she was first getting to know everyone, was trying to figure out if Gilligan was as innocent as he seemed. And that she had to chase Gilligan, rather than be chased like in Hollywood, had been part of the fun. Sometimes she'd caught Gilligan and that had been even more fun.

"Ginger?"

"What?"

"You look really cute with your hair pulled back and those black glasses. Kind of like Eva Grubb but still you."

"Oh, Gilligan." She always dressed this way when she was psychoanalyzing someone, and it was one of the few times she wasn't trying to look attractive. It was a very sweet compliment though. She leaned forward and kissed him, which would've been very unprofessional if she really were Gilligan's analyst.

He kissed back so warmly that her glasses steamed up.


	2. Second Opinion

"Thank you, Professor."

He took the lab coat she'd borrowed. "You're welcome. How did it go?"

"Well, Gilligan has some very interesting dreams."  
He chuckled. "I can imagine."

"I'm not sure you can."

He decided not to pry. After all, there was doctor-patient confidentiality, even if Ginger wasn't really a doctor. Which reminded him. "Ginger, do you ever think about the future?"

"What?"

"You know, once we're rescued." It had been five years, but it was still possible. He had to believe that.  
"Oh, well, sometimes."

"You're a very warm, bright girl and I think you should consider—"

"Oh, Professor, please, I'm very fond of you, but I don't think I could handle two marriage proposals in one day!"  
"Proposals? Two?"

"Yes, first there was—"

"Ginger, I'm not proposing to you!"

"You're not?"

"No. I'm very fond of you as well, but I think we're far too different to be compatible in the long term."

"Well, that didn't stop Gilligan."  
"You mean he actually got down on one knee and all that?"

"No, he was lying on the couch. Well, Mrs. Howell's deck chair."  
"While you were psychoanalyzing him?"

"Yes."  
"Maybe you misunderstood."

"Well, it was more that he told me he's dreamed about being married to me."

"Dreams don't necessarily mean anything."  
"I know, I told him that. But he thought about it and he'd like to marry me, but first he thinks we should date and see how that goes."

"I see," the Professor said slowly. This was not at all what he'd expected her to tell him.

"What did you want to say about my future?"

"Well, I was thinking about how much you've always wanted to be a nurse, or even a doctor. And there are more opportunities for women in medicine than there used to be. So I was going to urge you to think about it once we're rescued. Especially if you find that you're no longer interested in Hollywood."

"You mean if Hollywood's no longer interested in me."

"Ginger, you're still beautiful and talented, but, yes, it is possible that by the time we get rescued you may have trouble rebuilding your acting career. But a career in medicine could last you decades."

"I don't know about that. The AMA might frown on a doctor kissing her patients."

"You kissed Gilligan?"

"Yes, and it wasn't like when I usually kiss a man, where I'm after something or I'm trying to prove something."  
He well knew what that was like when she did that kind of kissing.

She continued, "He said he liked the way I looked today, with these glasses and my hair in a bun. So I kissed him. And for a change, he really kissed back."

That was interesting that Gilligan responded to her when she wasn't looking glamorous. She'd been wearing the lab coat as well of course. Had the change in her looks made her seem more approachable? He found this fascinating from a scientific perspective. Well, all right, and maybe a little from the gossip point of view, although he'd never admit to that. "Ginger, why did you choose me as confidante? You know I'm not exactly an expert in matters of romance."

"Well, no. But I couldn't confide in Mrs. Howell. You know what a matchmaker she is."

"Indeed." She had over the years nudged him and Ginger towards each other, as well as Gilligan and Mary Ann. "But why not tell Mary Ann? She's your best friend."

She sighed. "That's the problem. As her best friend, I know she has a crush on Gilligan."

He nodded. "I've wondered over the years, about both of them. But Gilligan is so shy and boyish, I began to think he wasn't capable of romance."

"Well, it turns out he's capable." She blushed a little.  
"Ginger, I really don't want details—"

"No, no, we just kissed. But it was some kiss."

"Ah. So do you return Gilligan's feelings?"  
"Well, I certainly haven't dreamed about marrying him! But I used to have fun chasing him and now I don't know what to do now that I've caught him without trying. Especially because I don't want to hurt Mary Ann."  
"I see. This is quite the dilemma."

"Yes."

"Perhaps you should talk to her."

"I think Gilligan's going to. He asked me if I'd go out with him if he got her approval."  
"How do you think he's going to acquire it?"

"I have no idea. What worries me is that he'll tell her how he feels and she'll be mad at both of us, even though I had no intention of stealing him from her."

"He's not really hers to steal, is he?"

"Well, no, but that's not going to make it hurt any less."

"And what if she says it's all right? Maybe not immediately, but after she gets used to the idea. What will you do then?"

She hesitated before replying and then she spoke slowly, "I'm not sure. But I think I would like to date him, at least here on the island. I'm not sure what it'd be like in Hollywood."  
"You might be surprised. He's a very presentable young man and I'm sure he'd love the world of movies and television."

She smiled. "Well, that's true."

He didn't think he'd care for it himself. He preferred a quieter, more serious life. Of course, if she became a nurse or doctor, that would be a different matter. But even then, he couldn't see it lasting between them. He was physically attracted to her, and she was capable of intelligent conversation, as she was proving again. He wondered if Gilligan would be up for the challenges that being involved with Ginger Grant would present. But that wasn't to say it wouldn't work. If nothing else, Gilligan would be kind to her and make her laugh, and the Professor was fond enough of her to want her to have that.

"Here on the island, well, he's fun to be with. And it's not wrong to want to be happy, is it? I mean, as long as it's not at the expense of other people."

"No," he said gently, "it's not wrong." He envied her, despite her dilemma. He had learned to live without romance, except for the flirtation and sometimes kissing that he'd received from her. He'd hoped at first that it would develop into more, but after a few years he'd accepted the limits of their relationship, and of his feelings for her. He had worried at times what he'd do if she fell for him, as he didn't want to hurt her. "I'm happy for you two. I hope it works out."

"Thank you, Professor." She kissed him, on the cheek, a light sisterly kiss. "So do I."


	3. Reinterpretation

"Mary Ann, do you ever remember your dreams?"

"Well, sometimes."

"Do you think they mean anything?"

"That's funny you should ask, because I used to have a dream dictionary."  
"You did?" Gilligan was so surprised that he almost forgot why he brought up the subject.

"Yes, I still remember some of it."

"Yeah? What does it mean if you dream you're married to someone?"

"Oh, I remember that one. It means that they have qualities that you wish you had."

"Oh." He didn't think that made any sense. What qualities that Ginger had did he want? She had great qualities but they were mostly girl qualities. Well, maybe he wanted to be sexier, but guy-sexy, not girl-sexy.

"Have you been dreaming about marriage?" Mary Ann asked quietly.

"Well, um, sort of."

"Were they happy dreams?"

"No, not happy exactly. But they were exciting."

"Gilligan, I don't know if I want to hear—"

"In one we were vampires and in another we were spies."

He was surprised again, when Mary Ann blushed and whispered, "Vampires?"

"Yeah, what's that mean? Death?"

"Um, sometimes. It also means, well. I'll write it down."

"OK."

She got a scrap of paper and jotted something down. But before she handed the piece of paper to him, she said, "Gilligan, I just want you to know, I'm very fond of you, and ordinarily I'd be very flattered that you're dreaming of being married to me, because it means you admire my qualities. But I can't be a vampire for you."

"Mary Ann, I'm not asking you to—"

"I know, it's just your subconscious."

"I've never been on a submarine, just ships."

"No, Gilligan, I mean you can't help what you dream. But it probably does represent what you want. And I can't, I just can't. You'd be better off with a girl like Ginger. I know she's always thought you're cute and, well, you never know."

"Mary Ann, I don't understand."

"Here." She gave him the piece of paper, then kissed him on the cheek. "Good luck." And she left.

That hadn't exactly gone as he'd planned, but he did seem to have her approval to date Ginger. He opened the paper, wondering what it was about vampires that had scared her but that she thought Ginger wouldn't mind.

 _"Vampires in dreams = seduction, losing virginity."_

Oh. Yes, that sounded more like Ginger than Mary Ann. Well, Mary Ann could be seductive when she tried, but she probably wouldn't want to follow through all the way to S-E-X. So was that what Gilligan wanted from Ginger?

He remembered other dreams about her, the Western one where she had offered him "fun" and he'd been tempted. And the one where he was a brave captain and she was a beautiful princess. They'd both flirted heavily in that one. He'd been so much more confident than in real life, like in the spy dream. He wished he'd asked Mary Ann what spies meant.

Then he remembered that Ginger had said that dreams can mean something different than what you see on the surface. But she'd never told him what they meant below the surface. He decided it was time to book another session with his favorite analyst and tell her about some more of his dreams. And if she agreed with Mary Ann's interpretation, well, they could discuss that.

* * *

"Thurston Darling, do you remember a few years ago when I tried to matchmake Gilligan and Mary Ann, and then the Professor and Ginger?"  
"Vividly, Lovey." How could he forget, when it had almost broken their own match?

"Well, I think that was a mistake."  
He resisted the chance to say, "I told you so." Instead he said, "Oh?"

"Yes, I've been thinking it over and it would've been better to match the Skipper and Ginger."  
"The Skipper and Ginger?"

"Yes, he clearly adores her. And I think she needs someone who's not a shallow Hollywood actor."  
"Well, the Professor is hardly that."

"Yes, but I think the Professor would be better off with Mary Ann. They're both so sensible."  
"And what about Gilligan?"

"He's not the slightest bit sensible."  
"No, Lovey, I mean that that leaves Gilligan as the odd man out."

"Well, that's inevitable, when I have three bachelors and only two single ladies to work with. Besides, that's part of what I've been thinking over. Gilligan is just as much of a boy as he was five years ago, and I don't think he'll ever be ready for romance."

"Lovey, perhaps it would be best to let them find their own happiness, with the partners of their choice."

"Oh, Thurston, I've tried, but after five years, they've gotten absolutely nowhere on their own."

He couldn't argue with that, but he still thought she would be playing with fire again. Before he could think of how to dissuade her, someone knocked. "Come in!" he called, not minding the interruption at all, although he had the feeling that his wife wouldn't drop the subject for long.

"Hi, Mr. Howell, Mrs. Howell. Can I borrow your deck chair again?"

"Of course, Dear Boy. Another psychotherapy session?" she asked sympathetically.

"Yeah, Ginger is helping me a lot, figuring out how my mind works."

Mr. Howell again bit his tongue.

"That's good. You know, I've dabbled a bit in psychoanalysis myself."  
"Yeah, I remember. But Ginger and I have already developed a doctor-patient rapport, so I think I'll continue with her, if you don't mind."

"Not at all."

They bade him goodbye and then Mrs. Howell said, "Imagine Gilligan using a word like 'rapport.' Even if she can't help him with his problems, she's at least good for his vocabulary."

Mr. Howell had the sneaking suspicion that Ginger could cure Gilligan of anything that ailed him. And he also had the feeling that he had better go warn the Skipper about Lovey's plans.

THE END


End file.
